market watch 77
MOP3 million, which entitle them to in-
Residential units sold as per Value of residential units sold
terest rebates.
record of stamp duty: as per record of stamp duty:
The banking sector points out that
despite the credit squeeze seen in the
YeAR MONTh
NUMBeR OF
TRANSACTIONS
YeAR MONTh
VALUe
(10^6 MOP)
West, local banks have not tightened
lending and their liquidity remains one
2007 October 1,434 2007
October
3,913
of the highest in Asia.
November 1,714 November 3,927
As one banker puts it, the current
December 1,628 December 3,754
economic downturn is easier for Macau
2008 January 2,000 January 4,944 people to stomach compared to previ-
February 1,156 2008 February 2,803
ous slowdowns because many people
March 1,407 March 3,238
have saved some money during the local
April
economy’s unprecedented growth in the
1,851 April 4,588
last few years.
May 1,259 May 3,036
“This time consumers still have
June 965 June 1,579
money. What they don’t have is confi-
July 1,112 July 3,148
dence in the economic outlook. These
August 800 August 1,862 days everybody is convinced that cash
September 432 September 850
is king, so they are hesitant to spend or
October 451 October 936
invest their money. But hopefully confi-
dence will return soon because Macau’s
November 308 November 494
economic fundamentals remain strong,”
the banker says.
Graph 1. average transaction value of residential properties:
Value (10^3 MOP)
The dark before dawn
3000
3000 Of course, it is worth noting that
2500 things tend to get worse before they
2500 get any better. This aphorism has been
2000 proved to be true by the latest official
2000
statistics. There were only 308 residen-
1500
tial transactions in November 2008, an-
1500
other record low, and the average value
1000
of each transaction was about MOP1.6
1000
million – a significant drop from the
500
previous month.
500
Things improved in December ac-
0
cording to the industry’s informal esti-
0
Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
2007 2008
mates and economist Kwan Fong sug-
gests that the government’s stimulus
measures are starting to pay off. On top
of this, the visit by Chinese Vice Presi-
Graph 2. Total value of residential transactions:
dent Xi Jinping earlier last month could
Value (10^6 MOP)
signal that further support for Macau’s
50000
economy is on the way, adding new hope
for local residents.
It may sound too early to say that the
40000
worst of the financial storm that shook
the world last September is now behind
30000 us. But many industry observers are be-
ginning to reverse earlier pessimistic
forecasts for this year’s property market.
20000
Meanwhile, as the government is
slated to cut transaction costs for prop-
10000
erty purchases by reducing stamp duty
from three percent to one percent later
this year, many analysts believe that
0
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008* transaction volume in the housing mar-
ket will go back to a healthy level sooner
*Note: The figure for 2008 only includes the total transaction value from January to November.
rather than later.
Source: DSEC
february 2009
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140